Trans-Atlantic Disney Cruise, Day Four – The Gut Punch Of New York

“Will you marry me,” David asked after a few weeks of knowing me. No ring. No preparation.

“Sure, but let’s go somewhere else.”

“Where?”

“I’ve never been to New York,” I said. “But if we move, I want a view of the Empire State Building from my window.”

I didn’t tell him that the Empire State Building was the only building that I knew, for sure, was in New York. I didn’t tell him that my knowledge of the city was based entirely on a few Woody Allen movies (and one Muppet one). I didn’t tell him I felt almost sick when we flew into Manhattan three months later with a ring on my finger and he said, “Look, we’re home.”

Home?

I was from Paris, Tennessee… the Catfish capital of the world. Why did I think I could make it there? Our apartment, at 3rd and 18th, had a window from which you could see the Empire State building. If you squinted or sat on the stoop.

Fast forward almost twenty years.

We have three kids. Our lawyer-financed Manhattan life has been replaced by a home in rural Tennessee, a huge yard, two dogs, and bicycles that you can ride for hours without seeing vehicles. Frequently, however, David and I travel to Manhattan for business. David’s employer is located in New York, and I go sometimes to meet clients. Though we’ve taken our kids with us on various trips, we’ve never been there with all of them in tow. A playground for adults, New York can be a nightmare for little ones who need to be dragged through the busy streets desperately holding onto hands in the crowd.

And so, we have our domestic lives in rural Tennessee and our occupational lives that frequently occurs in Manhattan.

When we found out the Disney cruise was going to stop there, our two worlds were colliding – cool versus uncool. Hip versus Mickey ears.

“Can you imagine jumping off the Disney Magic and getting on a bus to take an excursion?”

Instead, we decided to show the kids the things we love about the city. David took us to the aircraft carrier Intrepid. I took them to my favorite Vietnamese place and then to a cookie shop I may – or may not – frequent every time I’m in town. I’m sure they were thinking, “Wow, you have a whole other life up here.”

Which is true. Once I took my oldest daughter to Manhattan and took her to church at Times Square Church. I frequently even plan my trip to arrive before Sunday morning to make sure I can slip into the balcony for a service. In Tennessee, we attend a pretty stiff-upper-lip Presbyterian church, but Times Square is a charismatic church where people of all nationalities raise their hands in worship, speak out during the sermon in approbation, and speak in tongues. Hundreds respond to altar calls. When the booming music began, she looked at me and said, “You went to church here?” Camille asked. “It’s like I don’t even know you.”

When the ship started sailing away, the kids and I ran up the stairs to the top deck to get one more glimpse of the city. Normally, when we set sail from a port of call, people might glance out the porthole as they sip their wine from their restaurant tables. Not tonight. The skies were a little overcast but the decks were packed. As we sailed past the Statue of Liberty, a quiet settled over everyone. People smiled for selfies, took videos and photos, and generally just appreciated what we were seeing. The view of Ellis Island from a boat has caused many peoples’ chests to swell with hope. Certainly, from less glamorous ships. But still. People felt it.

Crew members began to emerge from the bowels of the ship for this moment… kitchen workers, deck cleaners, food servers, and hospitality workers from all different countries of the world. I’d never seen so many of the workers taking a moment from their duties just to see… Every one of them stood with a smile on their face as they watched Manhattan become smaller and smaller into the distance.

I’ve been on many Disney cruises, and I’ve never seen anything like that. It felt almost reverent. Whether you’re a naive newlywed who thinks she’s more sophisticated than she thinks she is, a wealthy businessman on his way to his annual European vacation, a little girl from Ethiopia on a trip to Copenhagen with her adopted family, or a guy from Mexico who sleeps in a tiny room on the ship below the water…

There’s something about New York that punches you in the gut and takes your words right out of you.